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| In
one spot,
you have cosmopolitan, big-city living, beautiful old
neighborhoods, great shopping, live entertainment,
sports, recreation,
and a whole lot more. Within a ten minute drive of the
outskirts of Grand Rapids Michigan, you can be in pastoral
countryside, rolling farmlands, beautiful new home sites,
lakes, fishing, boating, skiing and numerous golf
courses, parks and recreation areas. |
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Welcome
to Grand Rapids Michigan |
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| With
a population of just over 200,000,
Grand Rapids Michigan, is the second largest city
in Michigan and ranks 48th in size among all U.S.
cities. It recently was named by the Governor of Michigan
as one of the state’s “cool cities”
and has been featured in a Public Broadcasting System
documentary on new and upcoming cities.
Built
along the scenic Grand River, Grand Rapids Michigan,
has a vibrant downtown that people of all ages can
work, play and enjoy. The city is a mix of restored
historic buildings and new exciting construction.
In 2004, the city of Grand
Rapids Michigan, was ranked in the top 10 “most
livable” and inviting mid-sized cities in the
U.S. because of its vitality, public services, community
amenities and growth. |
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| Grand
Rapids Michigan, literally has just about everything
you could want in a city.
Grand Rapids and surrounding Kent County offers a Presidential
museum, an international airport, dozens of art
galleries, eight universities and colleges, several
major malls, a city zoo, nature preserve, summer festivals,
concerts, its own sports teams and even a world-class
botanical garden and outdoor art
facility. In the past five years, more than $500 million
has been invested in the city in new sports, cultural
and recreational facilities in the city. |
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Grand
Rapids Michigan,
is the largest city in the Metropolitan Region that
encompasses Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon
counties. The city and surrounding area are one of the
largest manufacturing centers in the state with local
and Internationally-based companies employing over 315,000
people.
There are many faces to Grand
Rapids Michigan. Take the time while you are here
to discover all the wonderful things there are for you
to see, do and enjoy in the city of Grand Rapids Michigan. |
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The
rapids of Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan, was given its name by
early French settlers because of the mile-long
rapids that ran through the area on the Grand
River. Back in the 1800s, the river dropped nearly
18 feet over the course of one mile along the
city forming steep rapids. Some of the rapids
can still be seen along the river, but the river
rapids have since been tamed by control dams and
fish ladders for spawning salmon. |
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Downtown
Grand Rapids Michigan
The
city center of Grand Rapids Michigan,
is the West Michigan region’s number one dining,
club and entertainment
locations. The city is full of great restaurants
that will suit almost any taste from good old fashion
American diners to Italian,
German, and European cuisines. The city of Grand Rapids
has exotic bistros that serve traditional Spanish
“tapas,” Moroccan delicacies and Oriental
and more. There is also a growing number of Asian
restaurants that serve up Thai, Cambodian, cantonese
and Vietnamese restaurants to choose from. |
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A
brand new $216 million DeVos Place
convention and exhibition center has been recently
remodeled and expanded in the heart of downtown Grand
Rapids Michigan. The convention center hosts national
and regional trade shows, conferences and special
events such the region’s popular recreational
shows for golf,
hunting and fishing, recreational vehicles and the
latest model new cars from Detroit.
DeVos Place is also the home of the Grand Rapids Broadway
Theatre Guild which hosts during the season top Broadway
plays and musicals. The Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra
performs there throughout the year, bringing in featured
national and international musicians. The Grand Rapids
Symphony’s annual Christmas shows are a delight
for all ages. |
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Up
the street from DeVos Place is the Van Andel Arena
which is the home of the Grand Rapids Griffins Hockey
team and the national championship Grand Rapids Rampage
Arena Football team. Van Andel Arena is the largest
West Michigan  venue
for touring concerts by national music groups, monster
truck rallies and motocross races plus a whole host
of other fun events.
Musical entertainment
that has come to downtown Grand Rapids includes a who’s
who in the music world from Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles,
Alabama, and KISS, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon
Jovi, Yanni, Neil Diamond, Rod Stewart, Kid Rock, and
Blues Traveler. |
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At
the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Center you
can also see such entertainment as
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir, the Harlem Globetrotters, Champions on Ice,
the Blue Man Group and the Ringling Brothers Barnum
& Bailey Circus.
If you need a place to relax and pamper yourself
for the night. There is the
luxurious Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, a beautifully
restored grand
old hotel that was once ranked as one of the “Ten
finest hotels in America.”
It is a beautifully
restored city landmark that is a delight to visit
and stay at for the
night or weekend.
Grand
Rapids Entertainment & Fun
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| Downtown
of Grand Rapids Michigan, is easy to get around
whether driving or by public transportation. You can
walk the city’s new entertainment
district along the river on warm summer nights. An evening
on the town will take you from fine dining restaurants
and casual pubs to sports bars
and stylish clubs. One of the very popular city center
stops is the BOB (for Big Old Building) which is the
home for a wide variety of nightlife
including a comedy club, restaurants,
great after-work meeting places and even dinner theater
shows. |
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Made
in Grand Rapids
“Furniture
Capital of America” was the name given to
Grand Rapids starting in the mid-1800 because
of its reputation for the high quality furniture
made in the city. Grand Rapids at one time boasted
150 furniture companies including such well-known
names as Baker Furniture, Sligh and Kohler. The
stamp, “Made in Grand Rapids” on furniture
was known throughout the world. There are still
68 large and small furniture manufacturing companies
in the Grand Rapids area. |
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